General Cat Care

In an online survey of cat owners, only about half of the respondents reported playing with their cats daily. Various professional organizations have emphasized the importance of environmental enrichment for cats, and some studies have raised concerns that many cat owners do not provide sufficient environmental enrichment. The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) and the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM) released a guide on the environmental needs of cats. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has published a general guide emphasizing proper cat care.

Teeth

Tail-raising also indicates the cat's position in the group's social hierarchy, with dominant individuals raising their tails less often than subordinate ones. The tail and ears are particularly important social signal mechanisms; a raised tail indicates a friendly greeting, and flattened ears indicate hostility. Redirected aggression is a common form of aggression that can occur in multiple cat households. Their high-pitched sounds may mimic the cries of a hungry human infant, making them particularly difficult for humans to ignore.

• When cats rub their faces on the furniture, other cats, or a person, it may be a behavior called bunting.
• Smooth and creamy pâté works well for lickers, minced might be preferred by chewers, and chunks in gravy allows cats to both lick and chew.
• These standards are usually drafted by breeders involved in establishing or promoting the breed and are approved by cat associations.
• This efficient system vastly increases the chances that a cat will conceive, which is one of the reasons for cat overpopulation.

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• The word ‘cat’ is also used for other felines, like lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, pumas, and cheetahs.
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• The tiny hooks on cats’ tongues help them groom themselves and clean meat off of bones.
• Sexually active males will usually be in many fights during their lives, and often have decidedly battered faces with obvious scars and cuts to the ears and nose.
• Cat intelligence study is mostly from consideration of the domesticated cat.
• Your veterinarian will be able to assess your new cat or kitten and determine the best diet.

During the Late Miocene and early Pliocene, machairodontines were the cat dominant cats and large mammalian predators across Afro-Eurasia and North America, with ancestors of living cats generally being small at this time. During the Middle Miocene around 15 million years ago, the extinct subfamily Machairodontinae (colloquially known as "saber-toothed cats") emerged and became widespread across Afro-Eurasia and North America by the Late Miocene. Felidae (/ˈfiːləˌdiː/ FEE-lə-dee) is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats. By learning about unowned cats, and how you might be able to help, you can give back something to the species that has brought you so much pleasure. You may be caring for one or more cats of your own, and love them as cherished members of your family, but what about all those cats that don’t have owners?

House cats can become overweight through lack of exercise and over-feeding. It could make the cat blind, as it has no taurine, which is a nutrient for the eyes that cats cannot make for themselves. It seems obvious that the food should be mostly meat, as that is most of a cat's natural diet. There is moist canned food and also dry cat food which comes in different sized cans or bags and formulas. Owners brush their cats to try to prevent a lot of hairballs.

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A group of cats can be referred to as a clowder, a glaring, or a colony. Some sources write that queen refers solely to unspayed cats that are in an estrous cycle. The United States leads in cat ownership with 73.8 million cats, followed by the United Kingdom with approximately 10.9 million cats. It is commonly kept as a pet, working cat, and pedigreed cat shown at cat fancy events. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the domestication of the cat started in the Near East around 7500 BCE. Add cat to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

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A very active cat might require a higher calorie diet with protein and other energy-boosting ingredients to provide fuel for activity and ensure proper weight. From nutrition and health to behavior and bonding, we bring together expert advice, trusted resources, and a passionate community of cat lovers. Our website is , and we are active on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. Pans filled with dirt or newspaper were used indoors by a few cat owners, but it wasn’t until the first clay litter was accidentally discovered in 1947 and the subsequent marketing of the Tidy Cats® brand in the 1960s that litter boxes really caught on.